# Peanut butter — What a food must legally contain to use its name: FDA standards of identity, in one table

For Peanut butter, cfr section is 21 CFR 164.150; category (cfr part) is Tree Nut and Peanut Products; composition requirements is such seasoning and stabilizing ingredients do not in the aggregate exceed 10 percent of the weight of the finished food. To the ground peanuts, cut or chopped, shelled, and roasted peanuts may be added. During processing, the oil content of the peanut ingredient may be adjusted by the addition or subtraction of peanut oil. The fat content of the finished food shall not exceed 55 percent; notable permitted / prohibited ingredients is artificial flavorings, artificial sweeteners, chemical preservatives, and color additives are not suitable ingredients in peanut butter. Oil products used as optional stabilizing ingredients must be hydrogenated vegetable oils, recorded from its source on 2026-08-11.

- **CFR section:** 21 CFR 164.150 _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Standardized food:** Peanut butter _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Category (CFR part):** Tree Nut and Peanut Products _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Composition requirements:** such seasoning and stabilizing ingredients do not in the aggregate exceed 10 percent of the weight of the finished food. To the ground peanuts, cut or chopped, shelled, and roasted peanuts may be added. During processing, the oil content of the peanut ingredient may be adjusted by the addition or subtraction of peanut oil. The fat content of the finished food shall not exceed 55 percent _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Notable permitted / prohibited ingredients:** artificial flavorings, artificial sweeteners, chemical preservatives, and color additives are not suitable ingredients in peanut butter. Oil products used as optional stabilizing ingredients must be hydrogenated vegetable oils. _(verified: appears in the quote below)_

## What the source says

> § 164.150 Peanut butter. ( a ) Peanut butter is the food prepared by grinding one of the shelled and roasted peanut ingredients provided for by <https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-164.150#p-164.150(b)> paragraph (b) of this section, to which may be added safe and suitable seasoning and stabilizing ingredients provided for by <https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-164.150#p-164.150(c)> paragraph (c) of this section, but such seasoning and stabilizing ingredients do not in the aggregate exceed 10 percent of the weight of the finished food. To the ground peanuts, cut or chopped, shelled, and roasted peanuts may be added. During processing, the oil content of the peanut ingredient may be adjusted by the addition or subtraction of peanut oil. The fat content of the finished food shall not exceed 55 percent when determined as prescribed in “Official Methods of Analysis of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists,” 13th Ed. (1980), <https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-27.006#p-27.006(a)> section 27.006(a) under “Crude Fat—Official First Action, Direct Method,” in paragraph (a), which is incorporated by reference. Copies may be obtained from the AOAC INTERNATIONAL, 481 North Frederick Ave., suite 500, Gaithersburg, MD 20877, or may be examined at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the availability of this material at NARA, call 202-741-6030, or go to: <http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/code_of_federal_regulations/ibr_locations.html> http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/code_of_federal_regulations/ibr_locations.html . ( b ) The peanut ingredients referred to in <https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-164.150#p-164.150(a)> paragraph (a) of this section are: ( 1 ) Blanched peanuts, in which the germ may or may not be included. ( 2 ) Unblanched peanuts, including the skins and germ. ( c ) The seasoning and stabilizing ingredients referred to in <https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-164.150#p-164.150(a)> paragraph (a) of this section are suitable substances which are not food additives as defined in section 201(s) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or if they are food additives as so defined, they are used in conformity with regulations established pursuant to section 409 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Seasoning and stabilizing ingredients that perform a useful function are regarded as suitable, except that artificial flavorings, artificial sweeteners, chemical preservatives, and color additives are not suitable ingredients in peanut butter. Oil products used as optional stabilizing ingredients must be hydrogenated vegetable oils.

## Source

- https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-164

Last verified: 2026-08-11. Review by: 2027-08-11.
Part of [What a food must legally contain to use its name: FDA standards of identity, in one table](https://referencesource.org/food-standards-of-identity/).